Carly Romberg leads the Atlantic 10 in digs per game and will be a big part of Dig for the Cure Night Thursday. |
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Charlotte Volleyball Continues Dig for the Cure Tradition
Oct. 29, 2007
Charlotte, N.C. - First-year Charlotte volleyball head coach Chris Redding and his 49ers volleyball program have picked up the proverbial baton and will continue a Niners tradition that enters its fifth season, the annual "Dig for the Cure" volleyball match, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. The Niners will conduct their "Dig for the Cure" night this Thursday, when they host George Washington at 7 p.m. in Halton Arena.
Started by former Charlotte volleyball coach Lisa Marston, "Dig for the Cure" is a volleyball-specific fundraiser where players and programs get donations for each dig they record in a match. A dig is a defensive play where a player prevents an opponent's attack from scoring by "digging" the ball from hitting the ground. The dig then becomes a symbol of defending against breast cancer.
"We feel this is a great tradition," said Redding. "It's great for the sport of volleyball and a great cause for all women. I think it's very important and a tremendous cause for us to be involved in. It was started here and we intend to continue it here."
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Marston started the program in 2003 after her mother fought and survived breast cancer. It was a good fit, since volleyball plays in the fall season, and October matches are plentiful. At first, the program started on a smaller scale, as she encouraged local teams to participate and made it a friendly competition fundraiser. Two years later, she was able to get all Conference USA teams involved when Charlotte was a member of that league. This season, Marston now has nearly 100 teams from all three levels of NCAA volleyball as well as NAIA, junior colleges and high schools, including several entire conferences (Atlantic 10, West Coast Conference, Centennial). The program has tallied over $100,000 towards research for a cure. Monies raised are donated to the Komen Foundation's local affiliate in each school's community.
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"My mother is a breast cancer survivor," she said. "We started this program to honor breast cancer survivors around the world. Most every person has been affected in some way by breast cancer, and so many people responded that we decided to expand it and get the rest of the country involved. I am really pleased that we have teams involved from all over. I hope it can become a fundraising competition between conferences."
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers working through local affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and generous donors, the Komen Foundation has raised more than $740 million for the fight against breast cancer.
For more information, visit www.komen.org or call the National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline at 1.800 I'M AWARE® (1.800.462.9273). Marston has set up a Web site that chronicles the efforts of "Dig for the Cure." The address is digforthecure.org and is run by Lisa personally.
